Don’t cling on to single buyer function, Escom told

Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change says their stand remains that Escom’s clinging on to a single buyer function is illegal.

The committee’s  stand comes on the back of a continued wrangle between Power Market Limited (PML), formed out of reforms in the power sector, and Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) on the operationalisation of the single buyer function.

In an interview on Friday in Salima after PML officials appeared before the parliamentary committee, chairperson Werani Chilenga said their stand is based on what the Attorney General said that Escom’s actions are illegal.

He said: “As a committee, we are going to take this as a recommendation in the report that we will table in Parliament for members to debate and thereafter pass the final recommendation.

“We will not sit idle; we will make sure that we keep on engaging Escom, Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority [Mera] and PML to make sure that Escom complies with the law.”

PML chief executive officer Rosemary Mkandawire said they hope that with the stakeholder engagements, there will be better understanding of the role of PML in the power sector.

“We will bring financial discipline in the power sector. We will be able to attract more investments because the power sector will be de-risked,” she said.

On January 19 this year when he appeared before the parliamentary committee in Lilongwe, Mera chief executive officer Henry Kachaje gave Escom 14 days to hand over the single buyer function and all the accounts to PML.

But when he appeared before the committee on January 21 in Salima, Escom board chairperson Frederick Changaya pleaded with the committee that they have to discharge the single buyer function, arguing that it will enable the parastatal to provide seamless power supply and transmission.

He argued that  stripping the parastatal of the single buyer function will paralyse its service delivery.